Thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storage captures heat or cold and retains it for later use. It can store energy by changing a material’s temperature, phase, or chemical state.

Sensible heat storage: Thermal storage that raises or lowers a material’s temperature without changing its phase. It stores heat in temperature changes, as in hot-water tanks and heated rock beds.
District heating: A system that distributes heat from centralized sources to multiple buildings through a network. Thermal stores can balance heat production and demand across a district network.
Phase-change material: A substance selected to absorb or release latent heat during a phase transition near a useful temperature. Its transition temperature and latent heat set the useful operating range and capacity.
Battery energy storage: Storage of electrical energy in electrochemical cells for later discharge as electricity. Batteries return electricity directly, while thermal stores primarily deliver heat or cooling.
Latent heat storage: Thermal storage that absorbs or releases heat during a material’s phase change. Phase changes let storage systems hold substantial heat across a narrow temperature range.
Concentrated solar power: Electricity generation that concentrates sunlight to heat a fluid and drive a power cycle. Thermal storage lets solar-thermal plants generate electricity after sunlight fades.
Molten salt: A salt or salt mixture that is liquid at elevated temperatures and can transfer or store heat. Molten salts are widely used as high-temperature storage media in solar-thermal plants.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity: Grid-scale energy storage that pumps water uphill and later releases it through turbines. It stores energy as gravitational potential rather than retained heat or cold.
Thermochemical energy storage: Energy storage using reversible chemical reactions or sorption processes driven by heat. It can retain heat in chemical potential with low losses during storage.
Heat pump: A device that moves heat from a cooler place to a warmer one using work. Pairing heat pumps with thermal stores shifts heating or cooling to favorable times.

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